On March 1, 2018, Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer signed Executive Order 18-09 to establish the Substance Use Disorders Task Force.
The 27-member Task Force, which included legislators, agency staff and other state officials, providers, insurers, law enforcement officers, educational representatives and advocacy organizations, met approximately monthly from April to August 2018. Meetings focused on the five primary topic areas defined by the Kansas Prescription Drug and Opioid Advisory Committee: provider education, prevention, treatment & recovery, law enforcement and neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). They developed 34 high-priority, first action recommendations along with additional recommendations.
The Kansas Health Institute provided process facilitation, research support and report preparation under the direction of the Task Force.